Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has traditionally been studies mainly involving male populations, which has influenced both diagnostic criteria and clinical expectations. Because early diagnostic criteria were built almost entirely around how boys present, we now face a reality where autistic girls and women are routinely missed. They end up spending years—often well into adulthood—navigating this heavy, unexplained social friction and emotional burnout before anyone actually connects the dots. This review is an attempt to unpack that female autism phenotype, looking closely at camouflaging, why the system fails them, and what exactly keeps these diagnoses delayed for so long. To get a clearer picture, we went through literature from 2000 to 2025 across PubMed, Scopus, and similar databases, focusing on sex-based differences, coping mechanisms, and co-occurring mental health issues. What the data actually shows is that autistic women rarely fit the old textbook mold. Their social differences are much quieter, and their verbal skills often hide the struggles. To survive, they rely heavily on "camouflaging"—essentially a polite term for masking their traits and mimicking neurotypical peers just to blend in. Sure, it works to get them through the day, but the internal cost is massive. We are talking severe anxiety, clinical depression, and sheer exhaustion. Since standard diagnostic tools still hunt for overt male behaviors, this whole internal struggle remains largely invisible to clinicians.
Institutions: Central Clinical Hospital, Ministry of Interior and Administration, National Medical Institute of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, Wojskowy Instytut Medycyny Lotniczej, Szpital Kliniczny Dzieciątka Jezus, Medical University of Warsaw, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $100
OpenAlex ID: W7220440323